How Many Plates Are You Juggling?
Photo Courtesy of DonBMinistries.com
I find it amazing the difference between our lives now compared to life 150 years ago. The stories that I’ve heard time and time again from my grandparents about how simple yet hard working their lives were, always amazes me. They did their work during the day, ate dinner, had family time and had zero distractions other than entertainment with the family and then it was bedtime. Their entertainment generally always involved other, as they occasionally went in to town for some entertainment on the weekend or when they could afford it. Now we have laptop computers, multiple social networks that we just HAVE to check and update BEFORE we play with our kids or even do our chores around the house or kiss our spouse goodnight. It has become not just another plate to juggle, but a way of life.
Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m one of those people that can be easily distracted with too many things going on. I am by all means not pointing a finger, but I believe there is a balance of all the things that you have going on. The first thing we need to do is prioritize. Make sure that you have the right plates in your hand before you start juggling. I strongly believe that technology and social networks are truly a wave of our future in business, and can be highly affective in sparking new relationship and building your business or personal brand, but hopefully not at the expense of your family. That’s where I think we get our priorities out of wack! I never was a guy that brought his work home and I’ve been pretty good at leaving that stuff at the office mostly because it was physical work and not social work. Now I have a facebook account, twitter, blog and am helping multiple people with theirs, it’s much harder to prioritize my time. It makes it even more difficult for me cause I am a about all things relational. Not only that, but I have multiple hobbies, such as hunting, fishing, chores around the house and make sure that my family believes that I am not just physically with them, but that I’m mentally there with them as well. This takes a lot of work, but I just have to know the right plates to juggle and at the right time. I don’t have any profound theology on the right thing to do here, but I’m just wanting to spark this thought and make you stop and determine that your priorities are in the right place.
Are you juggling too many plates right now? If so, are they in the right priority? If not, why not?
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Dude. Great blog man. I needed that. I feel like I’m good about shutting work down when I come home to spend time with friends & family, but am I mentally there? I need to consider that. Thanks for the challenge bro!
yeah i feel ya on this daniel. i do too much & still try to squeeze in time to spend with my family. when my husband was in iraq from feb 07 to march 08 i had to do it all plus try to squeeze in family time. my oldest daughter took up soccer in which i ended up having to be her coach & she also took up coach pitch baseball didn’t coach that but i took her to her games & practices and with those two sports i had her younger sister that went every where with us. plus i had to help with my oldest with her homework, get her to school. so i basically was doing the role of mom & dad to both of our girls & work & make time for church. making time for them was limited cause of all that had to be done.
Thanks Corey. I felt like it was for me to hear more than anything. I’m horrible at this and get caught up in too many things throughout my day. Thanks for the comment and glad it challenged you my friend.
hi dan,nice one,so true…challenging!you know what?ive read that yesterday and that night after work,i spent time with my wife and kid,also name sam..just in a living room,we play and what amazing was Sam was really glad that we were there with him…he is 4 yrs old…i was kinda assembling the robot that transform to be a jetplane..and so fun that my son really prayed loud like this “Jesus,help my dad to fix my robot”…
The right place to juggle is with my family…they made a difference to me…
Thanks man.
hey daniel, great post. =my most treasured time now-a-days is out running, simply b/c i can’t be distracted to all these electronic gizmos. when i’m out there running, i’m only doing and thinking about one thing. your post this makes me ask myself, “why can’t it be like that when spending time with my bride or little girls?”. It’s a good thing to think about and find away to accomplish.
Wow Samm, your comment has inspired me so much. I’m so glad to hear that you were challenged to unplug and play with the kiddos. I still struggle with that, but always see the fruit of it when I do. Thanks for your encouraging post and for reading as well.
Man that’s a great point. Some of us know how to unplug, but then again it can be selective in when we do. You hit on my point of “are your plates are you juggling in the right order,” ie: what are your priorities. Totally true my friend and thanks for reading and commenting.
such a good reminder. i find myself trying to do too much, be too many places at once. i need to get way better at the whole “wherever you are, be all there” thing. which means i need to probably cut out some things from my schedule and life.
gah! that comment was from ME! i didn’t realize my friend hadn’t signed out when she used my computer. sorry for the confusion…
HA! that’s funny….thanks for the comment, but most of all thanks for reading….Alece (aka: Tracee
First, thanks for using one of my favorite pictures along with your posting.
I sometimes wonder, while performing my plate spinning routine why people like it so much. Kids like it because of the “taboo-ness” of plates breaking. I think adults connect with it because, in a way, it portrays the busyness that you refer to in your post above. So many responsibilities, overwheming odds against you, and yet the miracle of being able to accomplish the “impossible” no matter the difficulty level.
Thanks for your posting.
DonB
Oh I’m so honored at your comment and how you connected with the post. I’m truly inspired to hear from the one that created the imagery that inspired the title “How Many Plates Are You Juggling.”
I too believe that us adult can connect the picture with our own lives, because it’s a tangible way to see what our lives can truly look like before us.
Thanks so much for what you do as I know that you and http://www.HarrisIII.com are truly an inspiration to many!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Don Bursell. Don Bursell said: http://danielcwhite.lindsayewhite.com/?p=440 A short article, with my photo in the header. [...]
I find the only way I can balance all my plates is by letting the unimportant ones drop and break. I long ago have let go of friendships that were based on gossip or filling space for others. I always trust my gut as to whether I should be partaking in any event at any moment of the day. I find by trusting my gut and staying random, I can balance my plates. It is an art form in itself, and it seems to stay balanced in this day and age. It takes so much awareness and discipline to stay on top of priorities. I admire everyone who is able to do so gracefully and lovingly.
I too find it amazing that anyone can truly 100% keep up with everything that comes at them. Thanks for sharing Jen, and I hope you’re well!
I truly don't want to offend anyone, but if time is short, and one doesn't have much time to spend with family—then stop tweeting, blogging, texting, and e-mailing about having "no time." . It's almost a "no brainer". People had more time in the "old days" to be with family because they didn't report EVERYTHING that they did!! I look at people that have thousands of twitter messages, and are complaining about not having enough time to do things with their family and kids, and I just say ""really?"" I know I'm getting old now, but this is the truth!!